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Orren Teraknian
This article is about the 19th-century king of Sasserine, for articles about other people named Orren Teraknian, see Orren Teraknian (Disambiguation). Orren III, known to posterity as Orren the Cruel, was the last king of Sasserine from his father's death in 1851, until he was deposed in the Albaidan-backed coup of 1885. Biography Early Life Orren was born to Prince Marvinus, Duke of Amedio (later Marvinus IV of Sasserine), Serena Teraknian (née Markosian). He was born third in line to the throne of his uncle, King Mordoc III. When he was only 8 months old, his uncle's death made him the heir to the throne of Sasserine, and his father's death in 1851 left him as king of Sasserine aged only 6. Regency The early death of Marvinus IV left Sasserine with a boy king. The privy council convened and appointed the Duke of the Rakin, Orren's uncle Prince Abathor, as the regent for the boy king. Abathor's regency was primarily concerned with the centralisation of taxation, a clamp down on corruption, and an end to the old royal practice of favouritism. For this, he was popular amongst the people, but despised by the nobility, and several assassination plots against him were foiled. Ultimately, disgruntled noblemen would be responsible for his murder and that of his family during the Albaidan-backed coup. During this time, Orren was educated first by a personal tutor, and then finished his education at the House of the Dragon. Early Reign After an attempt on Abathor's life in 1859 left him critically injured, Orren declared himself an adult and took power in his own right. Orren's early reign was popular enough, and he achieved great glory through expeditions into the Mocotan Jungle and victories over the lizardfolk. So much gold was won from the sack of Tamoachan that the streets of Sasserine were said to run with gold (this story actually originates from Orren's open-handedness with the gold won, he threw coins to onlookers in his victory parade, and opened chests and chests of gold and jewels onto the street in front of the temple of Kord, the treasure "flowing" down the street). Later Reign In the early 1870's, Sasserine found itself under pressure from the great powers Albaida and Jutunland. With their colonial empires encoraching on Sasserine's land and making things difficult for her people, Orren increasingly came into conflict with them. He started to become more severe and authoritarian in an attempt to root out spies, and raised taxes to fund the army and fleet needed to repel the Albaidans. When his grandmother Adelberta died in 1883, Orren was convinced that dark magic was being used by the Albaidans to try and assassinate him. As a result, he arrested all Albaidans in the city and the head of House Taskerhill. Most were tortured and many were killed in a period that came to be known as The Cruelty. Deposition The arrest and torture of Albaidans and the fear that gripped the nobility at the fate of Lord Taskerhill led the nobles of Sasserine to appeal to Isadora, the Viceroy of New Albaida. She agreed to help because of the plight of the Albaidans in Sasserine and invaded the city. Orren found most of his army deserting him, and those of House Teraknian who did not flee were put to the sword. Orren fled. Exile & Death Orren lived the rest of his life in exile, much of it at the Tiger Citadel deep in the Mocotan Jungle. Many times he travelled, or sent his household, to the courts of Feronian kings and governors to try and gain their aid in regaining his kingdom, but he was unsuccessful throughout his life. He choked to death on a chilli in 1899. The responsible breed of chilli has now been named Kingsbane in honour of the occasion. Epithet Until his later years, Orren was known as "the generous" on account of his freely sharing the spoils of war with the people. However, so marked was his change of character during The Cruelty that he became known as "the Cruel" then and forever after. Legacy Orren was survived by his son and grandchildren, who maintained their claim in pretence to the throne of Sasserine. Neither he nor any of his family would set foot in Sasserine again until his great grandson Tegan helped overthrow the Albaidan regime in 1985, almost a hundred years after his deposition. Titles Held by Orren Category:History Category:NPC Category:House Teraknian Category:Orren Teraknian Category:Sasserine Category:King of Sasserine